Comedy in three acts by Lope de Vega
Translation: Teodor Balş

Artistic direction: Corneliu Zdrehuş
Scenography: Paul Fux
Premiere date: May 17, 1963

In "The Captivities of Belisa", playwright Lope de Vega creates a superb portrait of the "melindrosa" type - the spoiled girl, whose demands sometimes reach the grotesque. The indulgence with which her parents have always treated her has transformed Belisa into a hysterical, selfish, irresponsible being. She ridicules her suitors and rejects them for arbitrary and contradictory reasons, finds shortcomings in everything that surrounds her and makes life difficult for those around her.

The remedy imagined by Lope de Vega to achieve Belisa's transformation into a responsible person is a series of surprises and twists that take her out of the dream world in which everyone around her satisfied her every whim. First, her infantile temperament confronts the emotions of a mature love, then the social problems involved in the love for her slave, Felisardo. Celia's competition and the intuition that Felisardo is not what he seems make Belisa lose control of the situation. Indeed, after an attempt to kill a nobleman, Felisardo has fled with his lover, Celia, and found a safe hiding place in Belisa's house, as a slave. The last surprise in store for Belisa is the discovery that her mother has also fallen in love with Felisardo and intends to marry him.

The revelation of Felisardo's true identity is accompanied by the realization that the man he loves is inaccessible to Belisa. With a new wisdom and a maturity that makes her accept her fate, Belisa chooses to share her life with Eliso.

Distribution:

Tiberius:  Constantin Simionescu
Lisarda:  Lili Mihailescu Vladimir
Eliso:  George Simonca, Ion Abrudan
Fabio:  Marcel Segărceanu
The doorman:  Valentin Avrigeanu
Belisa:  Simona Constantinescu
Celia:  Alla Tautu
Felisardo:  George Pintilescu
Carillo:  John Martin
Don Juan:  Jean Sandulescu
Flora:  Antoaneta Glodeanu Gîlmeanu, Doina Ioja

Technical director: Dalma Simionescu
Prompter: Agy Segărceanu